Strategies For Obtaining Clerkships

To increase your chance of obtaining a clerkship, consider the following:

A. Start Early!

The earlier you decide to pursue a clerkship, the more time you have to become acquainted with the faculty, obtain valuable work experience and prepare your application materials. Additionally, if you wait too long to apply, you may find that the most desirable judicial clerkships have been filled.

B. Grades and Co-curricular Activity

Academic honors and achievements are some of the factors judges look at when making hiring decisions. However, judges look at other factors as well. These factors include writing ability, research skills, recommendations from people they know and respect, prior work experience and personality. Remember, the judge is going to work closely with you for at least a year.

C. Extern for the Judge or Court Where You Want to Work

An externship is like a very long interview. If you do quality work during your externship and the judge likes you, they may hire you. Judges dislike reviewing resumes of people they don't know just as much as any other employer. Why hire a clerk who is an untested stranger? There are many judges who hire clerks almost exclusively from their externs. Choosing the right place to extern involves early planning.

D. Network with Visiting Judges

The law school often has special events that judges attend (e.g. Jurist-in-Residence, moot court competitions, etc.). If you would like to clerk for a judge who is coming to the law school, consult with the hosting dean or faculty member to see if an interview can be arranged.

E. Leverage Yourself to a Second Clerkship

Performing two judicial clerkships gives you the opportunity to view litigation at different court levels. Also, at least one federal circuit court judge, Judge Manion (7th Cir.), will not hire clerks who have not had at least one year of post-graduate experience. The U.S. Supreme Court also tends to hire only clerks who already have a year of post-graduate experience (usually in a federal circuit clerkship). More than one student has followed this route, some graduates were granted one year's leave from their firms; others worked as judicial law clerks or received a one-year fellowship.

If you don't receive an offer at the court where you want to work, accept an offer from a judge at another court level and reapply for the following year to the judges who were your original top choices. A letter of recommendation from another judge is very persuasive, especially if the judges are acquainted with each other. Also, some judges, especially federal circuit court judges, are considered to be "feeder judges," "feeding" clerks into clerkships with the U.S. Supreme Court after one year.

F. Apply to a Senior Judge

When a judge takes senior status, they usually reduce their workload. However, they may still be active as a judge. Even though a senior judge has a reduced their caseload, he or she probably has enough work to keep one or two law clerks very busy. The judge's senior status may reduce competition for these clerkships. Call the senior judge's chambers to determine how many openings there may be and don't hesitate to apply.